Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

I've been a great Monty Python fan since my teenage years but somehow never really knew much about the background of the troupé. An insight gives Eric Idles fantastic biography which is not only so interesting because of his fame with the Pythons. Idle describes his youth in a rural coast town in England, the hardships of boarding school and how he discovered his talent and love for comedy and his rise to fame with Monty Python which happened, as it does so often, coincidentally. What really made me respect Idle is that he does not smooth over what early fame did to him and how he in the end coped with it - by keeping his feet firmly on the ground and never stopping to laugh about himself. You will also learn quite a lot about popular culture and entertainment industry spanning from the late 60s up until now, including the deep friendships Idle had with icons like George Harrison and Robin Williams - and of course with all the other Pythons. And now for something completely different!

Eric Idle has always been my favorite member of Monty Python so I absolutely had to listen to this book.  I can't imagine just reading this book.  Listening to him read this made the book.This book was so much fun.  He is an unapologetic famous person.  He talks a lot about all of his famous friends.  He points out that he has non-famous friends but that no one in interested in reading about them.  He hung out with Beatles and Rolling Stones and all the other famous comedians in the 1970s so the stories are as wild as you'd expect.  One of my favorite stories was when Graham Chapman had a party at his house for his parents.  His parents were ready to go to bed at 10 PM but first they politely kicked the Rolling Stones out of the house.  I can see how some people would think of these stories as name dropping or bragging but he is full of so much love for his friends and joy for his life that I loved hearing about it.  What can you expect from a man who gave a toast at David Bowie's wedding to Iman and once got mistaken for a Beatle while standing next to George Harrison (who was pushed aside unrecognized)? He weaves the story of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life through the book.  He wrote it to have a happy ending in his movie that actually ended with the main character being crucified.  Since then it has taken on a life of its own.  It started being sung during British military disasters and then at funerals.  He's sung it for the Queen and during the Olympics.  He's sung it in drag and in a tutu, as one does.If you are a Monty Python fan who has watched the many documentaries about the history of the Pythons you'll love this book.  You'll have already gotten a good grasp of the official history from those shows.  This book will fill in what fun was happening behind the scenes and in the time since.This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story